ready

the days have been filled with getting the boys ready. new clothes, new shoes, lunchboxes, back packs, teacher books, syllabi and all the new curriculum. it's been all leading up to today when they would head off to school. isaiah has felt so much less anxiety this year. he knows the crew, he's met his teacher. it's a big day in that he'll be at school all day long. matt's got a full load of teaching, but in his third year, knows the kids and where he wants to take them. they're ready.

it's been all about them and making sure they're ready. it wasn't until isaiah climbed on my lap last night that i realized i hadn't made any time to prepare myself. sweet boy climbed onto my lap and cried big alligator tears saying that he would miss me. and it was then that i let my heart go there...i would miss him too. a lot.

i know it's only two days. i know i'll get 5 other days of the week with him. i know it's good for him to go to school and make new memories apart from us. but still, from 7am until 4pm (drive time included) is a LONG time to be apart.

alaythia cried big alligator tears this morning at the reality that brother once again was going to have adventures without her. soph woke up and asked for daddy - i told her he and brother were gone at school. 'me too' she said. i listed to them some of the adventures we would have today - just being the girls. all. day. long.

here's to a new beginning and to a great year of hard work, hard play and exceptional learning.

indulging mom on the first day of school.

talking through and speculating the days events.
he was ready and waiting on daddy.

a celebration

today my entire - and i do mean entire - extended family will gather together to celebrate my grandpa and grandma. professional photos, catering, presents and laughter. i will miss being there tremendously.

love you grandpa and grandma, and i hope you will be shown just how much today.

on motherhood

so i'm kind of into rachel jankovic. heard of her? she recently posted 3 blog posts on the desiring God blog.

her first post, matt forwarded to me.

her second post, i found myself.

her third i found through her dad posting a tweet about.

her words on motherhood are strong, true...and frankly, nourishment to my soul. she speaks the truth unabashedly. but because of the truth that runs through it, your spirit can't help but cry 'yes! that's right and true!' it's a voice you don't hear much of in this culture.

her dad, influenced my dad greatly in how to raise me. so the things she says, resonate deep in me. when she references things i KNOW what she's talking about. i believed it as a young girl, and i believe it now more than ever. but now it's my turn. my turn to take those truths and pass them on to the next generation. everything i'd want to communicate - she does...and much better than i ever could. she is my age, has kids the same age as mine, she's doing what i'm doing and she's putting voice to it from her perspective. she says what i can't find the words to say myself.

here is a link to the three blog posts. she is also a contributor to the blog femina. she has a book out which i'm just dying to get my hands on. i hear it might be coming my way soon...

sophia at 2 years

today is sweet sophia's second birthday. the house has been counting down the days. cards have been made, presents wrapped and days planned. as she was the last to wake up this morning, she had a room full of smiling faces greeting her into the day. it took all of 20 seconds before she had her first 'happy birthday' sung to her. by 8:30 she was asking papa and gg to sing it a third time. she has been reveling in the attention.at dinner tonight we went around the table and told soph what it was we loved about her. her cuteness, her love for books and her ability to wrestle. another in our family said she liked her toes and fingers....there is so much to love about sophia - beside the fact that she is so cute sometimes you feel like you're going to explode because you can't take it in.... her infectious joy. she thinks just about anything is hilarious and will shrug her shoulders, scrunch her nose and shake in laughter. when she wakes up we fight over who will go get her as you know you will be greeted with the biggest, sweetest smile. her adventurous spirit. she is unafraid to try new things. whether it's trying to balance on a soccer ball like brother, jumping off a couch into daddy's arms or trying new sauces at chik-fil-a. her love for her family. she wants to be just like her big sister. she wants to be included in everything her brother does. she gives to them, shares with them and wants to please them. she loves her daddy and calls for him when he leaves and when he arrives. and, well, she is MY girl.
tonight isaiah's prayer at dinner thanked God for allowing sophia to be a part of our family. and i know it's truly how we all feel. thankful for this little girl who brings so much to all of our lives.

happy birthday sophia. you could not possibly be loved any more than you already are.

kentucky adventures

last weekend we had a fun unexpected adventure. we had purchased a groupon several months back to ride a train at the kentucky railway museum. so we packed a lunch and toys to play with and headed out.


the part of the track that we traveled for almost 2 hours was the oldest in kentucky. the kids enjoyed getting to ride the train and might have loved even more having their tickets punched by the conductor!



as we traveled to the train station we realized that we were located just 9 miles from abraham lincoln's boyhood home and is birthplace. so after our train ride we went sight seeing. it was especially fun to do this because the kids were very familiar with lincoln from our trip to rushmore. isaiah had asked tons of questions about the 4 faces on the mountain. matt and i did our best to explain and tell isaiah about who those men were. alaythia wasn't as into the facts, but she definitely recognized the face and was excited to see more of him.

this cabin was located on the property that the lincoln family lived on when abraham was 2 until 7 years old. this was not their actual cabin, but was abraham's best friend's cabin that they had moved to the property. we all climbed in and were amazed at how small it was for a whole family to live in.

the land has remained mostly the same since the lincoln's lived there. 250 acres pretty much untouched. the kids loved running in the fields.

i had to snap this picture of isaiah... abraham was this exact age when he was roaming these kenucky fields. couldn't help but wonder, as isaiah grows up in kentucky as well, where his life will take him and what he will accomplish.

abrahams birth place is just miles away and it much more built up. the washington monument was actually fashioned after this one. they had a lot of great activities and museums. they had the lincoln family bible on display...love this!


the kids climbed all 56 stairs, representing each year of his life, and went inside to read and learn more about this great man.


it was a fantastic family day and such a cool outing. and we did not plan it or expect it. made me appreciate where we live and grow my love for kentucky.

school

we're gearing up for school around here. one week from today we'll be in full swing.

i was thinking the other day how different this year feels than last year. i was an emotional wreck...crying over mis-punched holes. i had no idea what to expect and was completely freaked out about my son going to school.

this year we've made progress. we've transformed the playroom into a classroom. bulletin board, desks, tables. i have a plan and am actually looking forward to the year. isaiah doesn't have anxiety, he's looking forward to it too. he'll be gone all day on tuesday and thursday...and he couldn't be more ready.

and believe it or not, yesterday i thought, 'we need school. we're ready.' our days feel long, and the kids are actually asking for it. i'm thankful for those feelings, i'm sure we'll need them a few weeks in.

going home

we decided that on our way home we would add 300 miles trip. yeah, cause we like to roll like that.... actually we decided that we wanted to see some sights instead of blitzing it like we did on the way out.

our first stop was yellowstone. let me just say, getting TO yellowstone, driving THROUGH yellowstone and driving OUT of yellowstone
were some amazing memories! the beauty is indescribable. the pictures don't do justice. God creation screams of who he is - mighty, awe-inspiring, creative - and to be there in the midst of it... well, let's just say we can't wait to go back!

the kids didn't know why it was called yellowstone...
they were thrilled when they actually found some yellow stone!

on the way out of yellowstone we were driving on highway 14 and it was like our own personal safari trip. around every corner we saw wildlife. baby moose, bucks, eagles, big horned rams... we had been playing a game the whole trip where if you saw a deer you got $1. we had to stop playing the game because the kids were making too much money!

our other destination point was mt. rushmore. man-made, but also awe-inspiring. the kids thought it was so cool that it was carved by explosives.

isaiah's questions were endless about the 4 men on the mountain
and it started a lot of really great conversations.

we were very glad that we made the extra trek - but i would say we are looking forward to going back when the kids are older and can grasp more fully the magnitude of the things they were witnessing.

but after 5 weeks and 6000 miles i will say it was nice to be home.

the great northwest

our trip to the northwest will have to be summed up in pictures. as we did so many different things. these are not in chronological order.

grandma and soph snuggling on the porch in their pj's.
the girls LOVED all of grandmas beautiful flowers!

uncle jake and auntie rose were gone when we first arrived.

we were so excited to see them when they got home!

no trip to the northwest would be complete without a boat trip
on the columbia river with great uncle garry and great aunt sandi.
but any good boat ride must start with a yummy snack...which
great aunt sandi always has waiting for us!
we boated to this cafe for lunch. the girls love their great uncle garry!

daddy and his girls.

isaiah and alaythia both tubed behind the boat with daddy.
they were so brave and i'm positive mommy was more scared than they were.
these faces sum it up. they would have stayed out there forever!

we went to sauvie island one afternoon and picked raspberries and
blueberries. i know we ate more than we ended up buying.

grandma and alaythia ready for the adventures of the day!

we were so excited when we found out we were going to be in the area
for the Seattle to Portland bike race. it was a tradition of ours
when we lived there. we never rode it, but we would travel
to seattle the night before and drive down, encouraging grandpa
along the 206 mile ride. this picture was at mile 175. we're so proud
to have a grandpa that can do this!

another part of the tradition of the bike race is isaiah crossing the finish
line with grandpa. when he was 3 he had his mini-bike with training wheels
and rode the last block with him. this year, with his new bike from grandpa,
he met up with him along the bike route and rode the last 5 miles with him.
this was no big deal for isaiah as he and grandpa went on several bike rides
while we were there. one for 7 miles and one for 14 miles.

grandpa with his girls after the race.

part of what we love about the STP race is getting to go to seattle to see family.
this is a picture of the kids with their great-great aunt lea.

MY auntie...and my namesake.

the 4th of july held a huge bash at adam and emily's. we loved seeing old friends
and getting to hang out. isaiah and alaythia got reaquainted with sam and henry.
they can't remember and hours and hours and hours they spent together
when they were younger. all four birthdays lay between a 2 week period.
rebecca and i lived a lot of life together....

uncle adam and auntie emliy lived it up with the kids while we were there.
the coolest event was the auntie/uncle date they planned.
adam, em, jake and rose took the kids for the night. they played mini-golf,
went to a toy store to pick out whatever toy they wanted, went out to dinner, spent
the night at adam and emily's house, and even went to the park the following
morning in their PJs. we are blessed to have such loving, thoughtful and
generous aunties and uncles!

the grand-kid garden. grandma had several flowers that needed to be planted,
and big space for them to go. she decided that she would let the kids plant them
where ever and how ever they wanted. this is what we ended up with. the flowers
didn't make it out of the pots, but they did get watered and cared for everyday!

grandpa and isaiah spent hours reading together. grandpa started a new
series with isaiah called, 'tales of the kingdom'. this was a childhood
favorite of ours growing up and it has been so fun to watch it become
a part of isaiah's growing up too.

we'll end with a picture of moses. he is the best dog ever
and provided lots of entertainment for the kids.

10 hours is nothing

we said our good-byes in rocklin...which are always hard...and started our 10 hour drive to vancouver. 10 hours felt like nothing since that was what one day was for us on the way out. we decided that we were going to stop along the way for a swim. we tried to stop at lake shasta, but could not find any spot to get in without a boat. we kept driving north and found lake siskiyou. it was perfect for us.

we had the beach to ourselves and the view was breath-taking!
as you can see there was still snow on the mountain so you can imagine how FREEZING the water was. but daddy, being the ever brave one, went for a nice refreshing swim!
we arrived in vancouver about 9:00pm to grandma and grandpa waiting for us on the porch.